IBADAN — Nine people, comprising four civilians and five security personnel, were killed during an operation to rescue victims abducted by suspected members of an international terrorist organisation in Oyo State, Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, has disclosed.
Ajayi made the disclosure in an interview published by Premium Times, explaining that security operatives launched an immediate pursuit of the kidnappers after receiving credible intelligence about the abduction.
According to him, a vigilante member and a police officer were killed during the initial pursuit, while additional fatalities were recorded when security forces subsequently raided the kidnappers’ hideout.
“Immediately after the incident happened, based on credible intelligence, troops chased them immediately, and sadly, a vigilante and a policeman were killed. During the second raid, more were killed, making a total of nine fatalities, four civilians and five security personnel,” Ajayi said.
The DSS boss described the rescue operation as complex, particularly because one of the victims was a two-and-a-half-year-old child who could not have escaped quickly if security forces had launched a direct assault on the location.
“It was a complex operation involving a two-and-a-half-year-old infant who could not run much if we invaded the place,” he said.
Ajayi also expressed concern over the spread of misinformation on social media during the operation, saying some videos purportedly showing children being tortured were old footage from another country and had no connection with the Oyo incident.
“As expected, the rescue operation attracted a lot of social media disinformation. You have to sieve the information there,” he said.
He added that videos depicting children with injuries were circulated online and falsely presented as real-time footage from the operation.
“While that incident lasted, they were posting deepfake videos of children beaten with lacerations on their bodies. They were actually footage from a particular country on witchcraft-related incidents passed off as real-time crude events here,” Ajayi said.
The DSS director-general urged media organisations to intensify fact-checking, particularly during sensitive security operations, and ensure that verified information was separated from false narratives.
“Recall the victims recounted how well-treated they were by the criminals. So, one of the things I’d like you to do in the media is fact-finding and separating facts from fiction,” he said.
Ajayi further disclosed that the group responsible for the abduction was an international terrorist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda.
He said the DSS had previously arrested leaders of the group, who were allegedly connected to the Abuja-Kaduna train attack and had been planning further abductions targeting foreigners, students, women and children.
“Citizens ought to know that the incarcerated leaders of the kidnap group who were requested in exchange for the victims were arrested last year by the Service; their arrest helped to prevent high-profile attacks,” Ajayi said.
He added that the suspects were “found complicit in the Abuja/Kaduna train attack and were planning more kidnappings of foreigners, students, women and their children on a large scale.”
According to the DSS chief, the group was seeking recognition as a state and freedom to practise its religion in a designated territory, making the arrest of its leaders a proactive security measure.
Ajayi said the group’s kingpins and three other collaborators had been sentenced to life imprisonment, although the DSS would seek stiffer punishment.
“The kingpins are the ones now sentenced to life imprisonment. The three other collaborators earned life imprisonment, and the Service will push for a stiffer penalty,” he said.
The Oyo abduction occurred on May 15, 2026, when armed men attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of the state and abducted pupils and teachers.
Security agencies subsequently launched a joint operation that resulted in the rescue of the victims.
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